NPPD Completes Power Restoration for Kearney

Power has been restored to all areas of Kearney following last week's strong thunderstorm, which produced winds over 75 mph.

Nebraska Public Power District officials say power was restored Saturday evening to the remaining 23 customers who were without power in the East Industrial Park. A planned outage also occurred along Avenue M on Sunday to complete the restoration effort.

Around 1,700 NPPD customers were left without power initially following the storm that pounded the area April 9. While most people had regained power within 48 hours, the East Industrial Park suffered extensive damage that required around 40 poles to be repaired.

"Our crews worked to getas many residential and commercial customers back in service as quickly andsafely as possible," said NPPD Chief Operating Officer Tom Kent. NPPD had to bring in over50 line technicians from other NPPD locations to help restore power to the city.

"The response of our linecrews to storm damage like we saw in Kearney and other areas across the stategoes beyond expectations," Kent said. "Just hours after the storm andassessment of the damages and material needs, crews were loading up equipmentand heading to Kearney."

Some NPPD crews will stay in the area to help remove any remaining debris. They ask that individuals passing through these areas use caution around the work crews.